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P. ASHCROFT.

RAILROAD RAIL- No. 73,282; Patented Jan. 14, 1868.

[Vi/776mm: 1777177757:

the pressure of a passing train.

gotten gems gaunt @ffi PETER ASHCROFT, OF RICHMOND ROAD, DALSTON, AND GEORGE FRED- ERICK LEE MEAKIN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

I Letters Patent No. 73,282, dated-January 14, 1868.

IMPROVED RAILROAD-RAIL.

TOALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Whereas we, PETER ASHCRQFT, of Richmond'Rond, Dalston, in the county of Middl'esex, civil engineer, and Gnoncn FREDERICK Lnn MEAK-IN, of Martins Lane, in the city of London, surveyor,. have invented An Improved Constrd'ctiomof Compound Rail, we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the said improvcmcnts'. I

This invention relates to anovcl construction of compound rail for railways, whereby an economical track may be obtained, with the advantage of the rails not being liable to deflect either vertically or laterally under In the accompanying drawing our improved compound rail issh'own in cross-section. It is composed o'fa middle T-rnil, A, formed of steel, clamped securely between two wrought-iron girders or angle-irons, B B, and

made fastby means of transverse screw-bolts and nuts, C. Orr-the opposite faces of the web of the T-rail are rolled indentations with inclined sides, into'which counterpart double wedgc-shaped ribs or projections, formed on the inner face of the girders B B, take, for the purpose of producing an interlocking ofthc parts, or thepositi-on of the indentations and ribs or projections may be reversed, When, therefore, the screw-bolts C, (which are passed through holes made in the side girders, and the steel a111, are tightened up, the middle rail can have no independent motion, or, in other words, it cannotspring and work loose between the clamping-girders, as it would otherwise be liable to, notwithstanding the passing of the screw-bolts, through the three thicknesses-of metal, if there were no interlocking of the parts as described. The head of the. steel rail beds upon the upper edge of the girders, asfin prcvionslyedesigncd' compound rails, but the form of the abutting surfaces in this case is such as to insure close contact between them when the screnwbolts are tightened up. This is clearly shown in the drawing, the contact surfaces having a slight inclination inwards, as indicatcd by the red lines, a a. In combining the parts care must bcvt'aken that the T-rail and girders are arranged so as to break joint, as is well understoodihy railway-engineers. 4

- Having now" set forth the nature of our invention, and explained the manner of carrying the same into efi'eet, we wish it to be understood that we do not claim, generally, forming a compoundrail by combining together bars of wrought iron and steel; but i What we do claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I A compound steel and wrought-iron rail, in which the adjacent (or bearing) vertical surface of the steel and iron portions are formed with angular interlocking ribs and grooves, and the upper faccsef the iron plates and lower' faces of rail-head form taper bearings, all substantially as described.

In witness whereof, we, the said PETER ASHCROFT and GEORGE FREDERIGK LEE MEaKtN, have hereunto set,

our hands and seals, the twenty-second day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven. PETER ASHCROFT, [L. s.] GEO. F, L. MEAK'IN. [L. 3.]

Witnesses:

FRED, WALKDEN, Clerk to Newton Son, 66 Chancery Lane, London. I MCWYNN, Clerk to Messrs. Scorer Harris, Public Notaries, London. 

